In 1986, when the Lower East Side had just one bank in a 100-square block area...
Today, despite a bank branch on seemingly every corner throughout the city, the article notes:
In Manhattan, long the world’s banking capital, 12 percent of households still do not have a bank account... 91,100 Manhattan households feel more comfortable hiding their savings in closets, in pillows — even in brown paper lunch bags. They rely on check-cashers and corner bodegas for cash and post offices for money orders, even as banks are more accessible than ever: the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reports 682 banks in the borough in 2008, compared with 521 in 2004 — a more than 30 percent increase.
Thanks for the info. I'm going to pick up and closely inspect every brown paper lunch sack I see!
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